Shameless Self-Promotion

[May 25th, 2005] It's not every year that WW gets to report from New York on the Pulitzer Prize ceremonies, so a little indulgence, please.

Reporter Nigel Jaquiss collected journalism's top prize at the Pulitzer luncheon Monday at Columbia University.

Jaquiss won in the investigative-reporting category for his series about Neil Goldschmidt's sexual abuse of a teenage girl in the 1970s while Goldschmidt was mayor of Portland.

Jaquiss was the first reporter from a weekly newspaper in the prize's 88-year history to win for investigative reporting.

Harvard University's Henry Louis Gates Jr., who gave the keynote speech, welcomed Jaquiss and other winners "into the ranks of some of our country's greatest writers, reporters and thinkers, and we hail you for a job superbly well done."

One of Jaquiss' siblings, Robert, made sure his brother's head didn't get too big.

"As my brother stepped to the podium,'' Robert said, "I had two thoughts: (1) immense pride, and (2) why is he still cutting his own hair?"

On Saturday, Jaquiss and other WW staffers attended the annual awards dinner for the greater-Oregon chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. At the Lake Oswego ceremony, Jaquiss picked up the Bruce Baer Award (the state's top prize for print and broadcast journalism) for his Goldschmidt reporting.

Among alternative newsweeklies in the Northwest, WW also picked up two other first-place SPJ finishes, five second places, two third places and two honorable mentions in news, criticism, opinion and cover design.

Honors won by Willamette Week among alternative newsweeklies in the Northwest (presented at the annual awards dinner May 21 for the Greater Oregon Chapter of Society of Professional Journalists):

News Story, short format

2nd Nigel Jaquiss, "Building Clout"

News Story, long format

1st Nigel Jaquiss, "The 30-Year Secret"

2nd Nick Budnick, "Taser Crazy"

Feature

2nd Taylor Clark, "Thoroughly Starbucked"

Personalities

1st Taylor Clark, "Strange Bedfellow"

2nd Taylor Clark, "Almost Famous"

Honorable mention Steffen Silvis, "Hell on Wheels"

Criticism

Honorable Mention Mark Baumgarten, "A Year in the Death of Elliott Smith"

Opinion

3rd Byron Beck, "Queer Window"

Special Section

3rd Byron Beck "Restaurant Guide 2004"

Cover Design

2nd Jason Landis, Samantha Gardner, Maggie Gardner, "Best of Portland"

The Bruce Baer award (the state's top prize among publications of all sizes)

Nigel Jaquiss for reporting on former Oregon Gov. Neil Goldschmidt.